Oregon’s Southern Coast (Part 2)

Cape Blanco, OR & Cape Blanco State Park

Hughes Historic House

Constructed in 1898, the Hughes House was built on an elevated piece of land just south of the Sixes River in the Queen Anne style by pioneer builder Pehr Johan Lindberg. Pioneers Patrick and Jane Hughes were able to afford this for their family of nine after running a successful dairy farm for over 30 years. Interestingly, one of their children went on to be a long term lighthouse keeper at Cape Blanco.

Sixes River

Flowing about 31 miles through the coastal forests of Oregon, the river empties into the Pacific Ocean just north of Cape Blanco. It supports both steelhead and salmon fisheries.

Sixes Beach

Lying just south of the Sixes River Inlet, Sixes Beach is about 1.5 miles long with golden sand and scattered rocks.

Cape Blanco Lighthouse

Built in 1870 this lighthouse has been a constant presence along the coast and the light has continued to shine until recently. The mechanism that turns the light has suffered a mechanical failure necessitating the lens being curtained. It’s been temporarily replaced by an electric beacon at the mouth of the sixes river. Hopefully, this incredible piece of history will be repaired soon; but it’s unlikely as first the road will need to be repaired to allow the heavy equipment to reach the lighthouse.

Needle Rock

The parks most prominent and photographed sea stack.

Campground

The campground here is small; but surprisingly private. Each site is quite large and carved out of the forest; which helps reduce the ever present wind coming in off the ocean. We experienced gale force winds while here and barely felt a thing at camp. We also have a regular night time visit from a racoon and a one time visit from a fox.

Cape Blanco Beach

This beautiful sand beach leads all the way past Elk River to Agate Beach and beyond to Port Orford Heads State Park.

Port Orford, OR

Port Orford Heads State Park

Port Orford Lifeboat Station

Constructed on a 280 foot high cliff above Nellies Cove (where the boathouse was located), the Port Orford Coast Guard Lifeboat Station was manned from 1934 to 1970. The barracks; which is now a museum contains pictures and stories of the men and women who manned this station, the games they would play to stay fit, as well as the stories they shared of life and death on the job.

It’s hear that we learn (for the first time) that Japan actually dropped bombs on the Oregon Coast during WWII. On September 9, 1942, a Japanese submarine surfaced just west of Cape Blanco and launched a small sea plane. The pilot then flew over the Oregon Coast dropping incendiary bombs on Mount Emily (10 miles NE of Brookings). The goal was to ignite large forest fires and draw public attention and hopefully military response to the west coast where the remainder of the Pacific Fleet would then be vulnerable to a Japanese attack. Given this is the first time we’d heard anything about it, they obviously failed.

US Coasts Guard 36498 is a mid-engine, self-righting, self bailing, 36 foot motor boat built in 1946. It served at Port Orford Lifeboat Station until it closed in 1970. It was finally pulled from service in 1981 after serving the southern Oregon coast for 35 years. If it were possible, just imagine the stories it could tell!

Nellies Cove

To help dampen the destructive currents between the boathouse and open water, a breakwater was constructed in Nellie’s Cove in 1939. The breakwater and boathouse supports are still visible along one of the park trails.

Hiking the parks perimeter trails

We continue down the trail after visiting the Nellie’s Cover overlook and it takes us around the complete perimeter of the headland with incredible views south, west, and north. We also see some really interesting sea stacks, the impact they have on the water, and a lonely harbor seal taking a rest before the tide comes completely in. Given how windy it is today, we also experience first hand how much the dense trees can block the wind when we shelter on a strategically placed bench at the end of the Headlands Trail.

Battle Rock Park

Battle Rock Park is a wonderful little wayside stop along Hwy 101. It has a lookout, information boards, trails down to the beach, and some very large and interesting rock formations you can climb at low tide.

Bike Route: China Mountain Mixer

Leaving from Battle Rock Park we head out on the bikes for about 15 miles of riding across various terrains: gravel, rough asphalt, smooth pavement, grass, and a small amount of shoulder on Hwy 101. This route goes up over 2,000 feet into the hills above Port Orford providing incredible 360 degree views of the surrounding area.

We then go through the forests around Humbug Mountain…

…down to the beach under Brush Creek Bridge at the base of Humbug Mountain…

…back up into the hills for a wildflower lined path and Pacific Ocean Views…

…past the Redfish Rocks Marine Reserve viewpoint…

…then down to the 101 and across Rocky Point Creek Bridge…

…and finally down to Graveyard Points & Port Orford for a look at the dolly dock.

Tichenor Cove

From the port we see Tichenor Cove to the north…

Port Orford Harbor

…and Port Orford Harbor to the south, as well as into the hills where we were riding earlier.

Sisters Rock State Park

This park is an incredible example of an undeveloped section of Oregon’s coastline. It contains a few miles of grey rock/sand beaches and three enormous rocks known as the sisters. You can also find a few sea caves here, one of which is large enough you can climb up to the edge at high tide and into at low tide.

Overlook

Park views

Sea Caves

For such a small park that’s only accessible from roadside pullouts, we really enjoyed exploring here. The wild and untamed beauty of the area is unparalleled.

Next stop… Oregon’s Southern Coast (Part 3)